Nordic Pride: Norway and Sweden—The New Fiscal Champs

Thanks to balanced budgets, both Norway and Sweden have debt-to-GDP ratios below 40%, while the U.S. is at 73%.

In the bond-market equivalent of a smackdown, Pimco founder Bill Gross last week compared the U.S. to Italy and Spain. Ouch. Gross may have gone too far, but America clearly isn't the model of fiscal probity it used to be. Has any other country taken its place? Norway and Sweden both fit the bill.

The two Nordic countries both have triple-A debt ratings, and debt-to-GDP ratios of less than...